Amazing Race Season 9 - Episode 1
The first leg of the Amazing Race 9 began in Denver, Colorado. The twosomes were directed to drive themselves to the airport where they were to book themselves on one of three flights to Sao Paulo, Brazil. They were then to make their way to the rooftop of Hotel Unique, where they would find their next clue. This clue told them to take a Taxi to Viadeto Santa Efigua, and search for the next clue.
Once in Brazil, the participants’ personalities begin to emerge. Lisa and Joni, the sisters who have been nicknamed the Frosties are very entertaining, but their lack of experience and caddy attitude with people unlike them, is a little annoying. The sisters have done a lot of complaining already, and the race has barely begun. They don’t seem to be really putting forth a lot of effort at this point; therefore I don’t see them going very far in the race.
The first detour of the race made the teams choose between Motorhead and Rotorhead. In Motorhead, participants had to assemble a motorcycle without any instructions, and start it before receiving their next clue. In Rotorhead, participants had to locate a destination on a map, have a helicopter pilot take them there, and search for a clue at the destination. There were limited tickets to each place, so some of the twosomes had to go to further away destinations. From this point, contestants had to take a taxi five miles to Santa Cecelia where they had to locate a warehouse, watch a ceremonial dance and light a white candle. The leg of the race ended as the twosomes made their way to a soccer stadium where the final team to arrive was to be eliminated.
The older couple, Fran and Berry are off to a very rough start. Their extensive travel background has not been apparent as of yet. They have wasted a lot of time searching for clues that should have been easy to see. They also wasted a great deal of time by choosing a detour that was not suitable for them, failing miserably, and then having to complete the other challenge as well. Despite the problems they had, they managed to battle back and not be eliminated this week. I hope that is an indication of how they will do in the future.
In the end, Eric and Jeremy crossed the finish line first. Their laid back attitude is refreshing, but their constant flirting with the girly girls, Dani and Danielle, nicknamed the Double Ds, could get irritating. I see a lot of drama developing between this foursome, and whether it will be a distraction to them is yet to be determined.
Unfortunately, John and Scott finished the race in last place and were eliminated. I think they had potential in the race, but a string of unfortunate events sparked by a cab driver who didn’t know where he was going, led to their demise.
Other than the unexplainable uneasy feeling I get from the Geeks, David and Lori, the other couples have not made a big impression on me as of yet.
I look forward to watching next week as the participants true personalities are further revealed.
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March 2nd, 2006 at 10:09 am
Amazing Race 9
They’ve got some interesting teams in the Amazing Race this season.
March 19th, 2006 at 6:01 pm
I’ve been watching The Amazing Race for a few seasons now but I still don’t get all the rules.
The local news from the CBS affiliate in Denver, Colorado interviewed Fran and Barry after they hosted a watch-party with family and friends for the first episode up in Breckenridge, Colorado. During the segment, Fran and Barry revealed that contestants were not allowed to speed on the way to Denver International Airport from the launching point at Red Rocks Ampitheatre. Contestants also must stay together and within 20 feet of their camera person at all times. The funny part of this rule is the camera person actually stopped and focused on the clue box on the bridge when Fran and Barry kept walking past it. You’d think that would have given it away, but it didn’t.
It’s great having the old format back in place and once again many of the learned lessons continue to prove their relevance. There seem to be two ways a team can almost guarantee a lost. Either their taxi gets them lost or they pull some sort of self-inflicted blunder.
Lake and Michelle did it first by failing to read all the rules on the very first clue. Pulling over to book a ticket only cost them time as this was not allowed. Fran and Barry were the second contestants to cripple themselves by missing the obvious clue box on the bridge.
And then both Fran and Barry and Dani and Danielle made the fairly stupid choice of assembling a motorcycle instead of flying in a helicopter. Both teams knew they had no experience as mechanics but somehow still concluded it would be easier than sitting in a helicopter and searching for a clue. I don’t get it.
John and Scott were the first to suffer death by taxi on the way to the bridge.
-nap